Grading the Gators: What are Florida’s strengths and weaknesses for the 2023 season?
Quarterbacks | B
Florida lost Anthony Richardson to the NFL Draft, leaving them to find a new leader in the transfer portal. They picked up Graham Mertz and recently named him their starting quarterback for the 2023 season. Mertz threw for 2,136 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season with Wisconsin. His four years of experience and 32 starts seems to be one of the biggest reasons Napier chose him.
Running backs | A
Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne combined for 1,560 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns last season. If Johnson and Etienne pick up where they left off last season, the Gators’ run game could be a serious threat to opposing teams in 2023.
Receivers/Tight ends | C
After Xzavier Henderson transferred to Cincinnati in May and Justin Shorter was drafted to the NFL in April, the Gators are still left with senior receiver Ricky Pearsall, who led the team in receiving yards (661) with five touchdowns. Russ Calloway will enter his first season as the new tight ends head coach and leads a room of mostly young and inexperienced players.
Offensive line | C
The offensive line last season was one of the team’s strengths. It ranked seventh in the nation for yards per carry, averaging 5.51 yards, and only allowed 16 sacks. But the Gators lost O’Cyrus Torrence, Richard Gouraige, Michael Tarquin and Ethan White, leaving Napier and his staff with lots of holes to fill. Florida brought in four new offensive linemen from the transfer portal.
Defensive line | B
The team lost Gervon Dexter to the NFL Draft, who had 33 tackles, one pass defended, two sacks and one interception in 2022. Napier picked up Cam’Ron Jackson and Caleb Banks from the transfer portal. According to On3, Jackson was the No. 11 defensive lineman in the transfer portal.
Linebackers | C
Losing two significant players, Amari Burney and Ventrell Miller, who are now in the NFL was a huge hit for Florida. The Gators added three new linebackers from the portal, including former Houston linebacker Mannie Nunnery who recorded 81 career tackles (48 solo), 3.5 sacks and one forced fumble. Sophomore Shemar James’ returns to the team and had 47 stops last year.
Defensive backs | A
Returning to the defense is Princely Umanmielen, who led the team in sacks last year (4.5) and amassed a team-high 9.5 tackles for loss. Other key returners include Jason Marshall Jr. and Kamari Wilson.
Special teams | A
Adam Mihalek led the field goal unit last season as he made 66.67 percents of his attempts, including a career-long 52 yard field goal against Georgia. Additionally, he made 42 of 43 of his PAT’s. Etienne led the team in kickoff returns with an average of 25.2 yards per return, a team high.
